Jayson Tatum Addresses Possibility of Kevin Durant Playing With Celtics

Boston’s lead star seems rather content with the team’s current roster.

Amid continued uncertainty about Kevin Durant’s future with the Nets, Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum addressed the recent reports that suggest Boston has engaged with Brooklyn in trade talks for the future Hall of Famer.

Speaking to a small group of reporters prior to the premiere of the Showtime documentary Point Gods, Tatum made clear that while he admires Durant’s game, he remains perfectly content with the current Celtics roster.

“I played with [Durant] during the Olympics,” Tatum said Tuesday night, per Jared Schwartz of the New York Post. “Obviously, he’s a great player, but that’s not my decision. I love our team. I love the guys that we got.”

Jayson Tatum on rumors of #Celtics interest on Kevin Durant #Nets

He like the Celtics as they are pic.twitter.com/6VnGZNh98d

— Jared Schwartz (@jschwartz115) July 26, 2022

Tatum’s statement on the situation comes after ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday morning that the Celtics are among the teams engaged in trade talks for Durant. While Boston has ensured to keep Tatum out of the discussions with Brooklyn, a package involving fellow All-Star Jaylen Brown has made the Celtics a “formidable” player in the Durant sweepstakes, according to Wojnarowski.

In a separate report from Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Celtics reportedly offered the Nets a package that included Brown, reserve guard Derrick White and a draft pick. Brooklyn rejected that trade, and asked that any Celtics proposal include Brown, point guard Marcus Smart, multiple picks and potentially one more rotation player.

When asked about the swirling speculation surrounding his team, Tatum said he doesn’t “make anything of it”, reiterating multiple times that he “loves” the Celtics roster as currently constructed.

"We got two new pieces [in Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari],” Tatum said. “I love our team. I just go out there and play with my teammates. I don’t put that [general manager] hat on to make decisions.”

According to ESPN’s Nick Friedell, Durant, who is an executive producer on the documentary, was also present at Tuesday’s premiere. He did not stop to speak to reporters at the event.

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